Terror of the Underworld

When Arano steps out of the station, his fate is already sealed. The young man of few words came to Tokyo to chase his dreams: he wants knives to rain down, preferably into the hearts of the yakuza, whom he inexplicably hates. Caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs, Arano befriends club owner Kamijo and skater Alice, joining their chaotic world. But the bonds he forges are soon torn apart by greed, revenge, and arrogance. Pornostar is a visually stunning mixture of drama, thriller, and gangster film, drenched in fake blood and sprinkled with a touch of love story, all set against the restless backdrop of the Japanese capital on the verge of the millennium.

Everything in Pornostar unfolds so viscerally that you almost feel like you’re in the room, witnessing lives snuffed out one after another. Arano’s motive to rid the world of the yakuza is hinted at but remains elusive. Kamijo’s fatal step into the underworld is as casual as Arano’s final encounter with Alice, who might have been his escape from the violent fantasies of bloody knives. But, to be honest, I don’t want these characters to find happiness. They’ve chosen to play this deadly game of violence and may even deserve Arano as their vengeful angel. Yet with his first murder, even Arano plunges into an abyss from which there is no escape.

Toshiaki Toyoda’s Pornostar reminded me of Hideaki Anno’s Love & Pop, released the same year. Both directors employ a raw, almost documentary-style of shooting, though the two films actually are two sides of the same coin. One side is filled with mischievous schoolgirls, the other, well, with corpses. If you watch Pornostar expecting any kind of satisfaction, inspiration, or even happiness by the time the credits roll, you’ll be disappointed. I could almost wish for one or two characters to experience their own Grand Summer of Love in Fiji, sliding blissfully into the year 2000. But, as the Bible already says: For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.